Dolomite_supafly

More of the pawn shop pricing. I seriously see guns that are way cheaper than the used gun market at pawn shops. When was the last time you seen a single shot 12 gauge for $60 in decent shape? I see and know of where there are quit a few. Marlin and Winchester 30-30's for $250 out the door in decent shape? I know there was no less than 5 of each every time I stepped into a pawn shop I stop in at every 2 month or so. And that same shop has had those same prices for at least the last 2 years. Same shop had a Saiga 20 for $399 and several AR's for under $800 when everyone else was asking twice that. How about a Tec9 for $299 and its little brother for $225 and they would come down on those prices. They had more ammo than anywhere I had seen in months and the prices were about 10%-20% more than Walmart on everything they had.   You guys need to find a different pawn shop.   Just called and they have the Marlin 30-30's for $269. Which means they are probably going to let it out the door for $250 or less.

Not to mention being a prepper just became mainstream. There are probably millions of new preppers out there buying into the cheapest way to get into being armed, that is 22lr.

Have you guys ever asked if they would take less? Because I guarantee they will.   The pawnshops price knowing people are going to haggle, they expect it. They don't price it in hopes that someone comes in not knowing what something is worth. I go in with the mindset they paid 1/2 their sticker price. I suspect it is more like 1/4 but at a 1/2 it gives me a idea of where I want to be BEFORE I make a decision to buy. I don't walk in and say to myself "I have to have that" then haggle down as low as I can. I go in and begin to haggle before I decide I want it. The final haggle price will determine whether I buy it or not.  More than half the time after I get done haggling I don't buy even if it is at a fair price.  Also, you are never done haggling until whoever you are talking to asks someone else. The people in charge rarely deal with the public and they are the final say in the prices.    The pawn shops I have dealt with will knock off, on average, 1/3 of the sticker price. I too have seen Marlin model 60's with a sticker price of $219 but after 5 minutes of haggling I could have walked out the door with it for $100. I seen a Ruger 100/22 stainless with a cheap scope and a cheap magazine that had a $300 pricetag. I asked "How much lower can you go" and literally the next words were "$200 out the door". So they knocked $100 off because I asked. And after a few more minutes I walked away after I got them down to $175 out the door. I bought a very nice bracelet for my wife for what was scrap value and later was told it was worth 3x-4x what I paid because it was a handmade, custom piece.   I passed on a SS Remington 700 in 300 WM sitting in a AI stock with a scope. I contacted a friend of mine who went down there with cash and haggled them down to just over $1,000 out the door. Not to bad for what was probably a $2,000 gun.   And one more thing, stopping in regularly is the key. Almost every day they put stuff out on the floor. And if you don't check often then people like me, who do check often, will get to them before you do.   If a person isn't comfortable haggling then pawnshops aren't for you.

I am going to call my local Walmart this morning with the stamping suggestion. I am even going to offer to pay for the stamp. Stamps are cheap enough that you would make your money back the first time you walked in and found ammo on the shelf.   As far as the pawn shop stuff, I find deals pretty regularly. The way to find deals is check the same stores often. And find a store that is about at market or a little above on their sticker price. Don't be afraid of the sticker price because they expect hagglers and haggle you must in order to get a deal at a pawn shop. And haggle with them every time you go in there on ANYTHING to get an idea of how much they will come down. They are making great margins so they WILL come down a lot. Like yesterday I found a Ruger GP100 that was marked $349. From experience from buying from that shop I know they will let it go for under $300 out the door. Same pawnshop netted me a mint Marlin 39A for $275 out the door. I have also seen Savage rifles marked for under $250 that would mean $200 out the door. And when buying from a pawn shop you know the gun isn't stolen. Also, most pawn shops do transfers for cheap.   My wife enjoys going in them as well to look at the gold. You can even get some pretty decent deals on their jewelery. They are paying scrap price or less so if you are offering more than scrap price you stand a good chance of getting the item. You can call and most shops will tell you what they are paying for scrap that day and most tags, from what I have seen, have their weight on them. That is why when you ask how low they can go on something they look at a tag, then ask the going price for scrap and then use a calculator to come up with a price.   There is a skill involved in dealing with pawn shops but it is no harder than dealing with a private seller. And in order for you to get a deal you have to know the going price on what you are looking at otherwise you will get screwed.

What jurers should be told is they also have the option of nullification. That is finding the law the defendant broke as unjust and refusing to punish him for breaking an unjust law. He may have been guilty of breaking the law, as written, but it doesn't mean the law itself is just and legal.   There are thousands of laws that are unjust and people were convicted because most jurors are unaware of the right of nullification. Had the jurors known they could declare the law unjust a lot of people would be free.   Maybe if more juries were to nullify and begin ruining DA's conviction rates they would quit charging people with laws that are unjust.

I would caution against using NFA for HD. If something does happen you are going to be without your stuff for a very long time. Even if you are 100% right they are going to hold your stuff until the trial is over.   Also, 200 yards is mighty optimistic for a SD situation. You would have a hard time explaining why you shot rather than run if the bad guy is 200 yards away.   If you want light you need to forget about aluminum. You need to get a polymer lower and carbon fiber free float tube to keep the weight down. I have a 20" AR in 223 that weighs an honest 5 pounds. It would be easy to duplicate because I used all off the shelf parts. You could do the same in 300 Blackout and save a little weight with a 16" barrel.   And as much of a fan of the 300 I am I would take a hard look at a 9mm carbine. There is no muzzle blast to contend with without a suppressor. It will be loud but no where near as loud as a 300 BO. It is generally easier to charge than most other calibers. Out of a rifle barrel it gives 357 Magnum type performance. And the best thing is the gun is a blowback which makes it supremely reliable. My wife's 9mm AR has over 9K rounds through it and it has been cleaned 3 times since new. And if you must suppress it will suppress easier and cheaper than a 300 Blackout. A 9mm suppressor is generally smaller and lighter than suppressors that will work with full power 300BO. I would NEVER use subsonic 300 Blackout for a self defense round. I have been doing a lot of testing as of late and they pass right through water jugs without tumbling or expanding. A slow, heavy bullet is more likely to over penetrate than a lighter faster bullet.

I have heard people say that no reloads were shot in a gun when selling a gun or trying to buy a gun. I think that is because those who don't reload think that all reloaders load their ammo super hot and that this wears the guns out. From all the reloaders I have talked to the vast majority are on the other end, that is they find the lightest load that cycles reliably and run with it. I know I personally run stuff on the low end with very few exceptions.   As far as running someone else's reloads I would have to know them very well. I would never buy some guy's reloads at a show or on the internet because they generally do not have the insurance or take the precautions manufacturers do. And if a guns kabooms or a person is injured I suspect you would have a hard time proving it was their reloads and even if you did it would be even harder to get any money out of them.

The case capacity is actually a myth that has been dispelled. Most 5.56 brass actually has more capacity than more commercial 223 loads. check about 1/2 way down this page for capacities: http://www.6mmbr.com/223rem.html Here is a chart that backs up the website: http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=332186

That is pretty funny. At least the officers had a sense of humor about it.

I would start at 25.5 grains of SMP842 and work up. SMP842 is a great powder but it can be very unforgiving if you are not careful.   I will say that at 26 you are VERY close to what I would consider max with the bullets you are using.

I think we are in a ammo vacuum here in east Tennessee. I haven't seen ANY 22lr in any store in the last 5 months. Not a single box, bulk or otherwise. The last 22 I bought was 22 short I bought the first part of January. I normally shoot 2K+ a month and haven't shot that since December. Even considering building a 22 Jet just so I can use my 22 lr can. I have 22 lr but I will not fire another shot until I can buy more.   Now my local Walmart gets 22lr in a few times every week according to the workers. They said they get thousands of rounds each time but the same group of guys come in and buy all they can. Same thing for 223, 9mm and most other popular calibers.

We all know those Savages aren't accurate enough to get to 1K. :)   That is some amazing shooting. Savage or otherwise.

Depends on what you are mowing. I can guarantee certain brands last longer during hard use than others. I have seen brand new mowers get their decks tweaked by an accidental bump against a tree. My mother bought a Murray 3 years ago and it sits because the second time out a bump against a stump ruined it.   Me buying a Cub has zero to do with me wanting to be seen with a name brand. We live in a very remote area and I seriously doubt there has been more than 10 people who have seen our mower.

The county I live in they are very short staffed as well. On top of that our county is about two hours long when driving from end to end. So if the two officers are at one end and something happens at the other it could be a few hours before they arrive. We have called officers several times over the years and the absolutely quickest they have ever been here was about 10 minutes. We have also called and never had an officer respond. Our sheriff even put out in the paper that because of budget problems they would not respond to anything unless it was life threatening. He said for all other crimes come in the following business day during business hours to report it.

All I use anymore is chalkboard paint. Once cured or, better yet, baked it is extremely durable. It has to be to stand up to chalk. I normally prep my guns, spray them, allow them to dry then bake them. I will put the oven on 350 then turn it off as I put the air cured parts inside the oven. The parts get baked as the oven cools. MAKE SURE TO DISASSEMBLE THE GUN AND REMOVE ANY PARTS AFFECTED BY HEAT LIKE SPRINGS OR PLASTICS. You can find it at Walmart for under $6. A can is enough to do several long guns. Believe it or not but Krylon is very durable once baked on. It is also very easy to touch up if need be.

What kind of rifle?

Thanks for posting. I have done a lot of work with delrin but my stuff is a lot thicker. I think I might have to try polyethylene next time I order materials.

I have had Lil'Gun sitting in my dispenser for at least 6 months now. I loaded from it this week and it is fine.   I needed to edit this.   I went to remove the Lil'Gun powder and it had actually melted into the plastic of my RCBS dispenser. The plastic powder baffle I was using was firmly glued in place as well.   I would caution against leaving powder in a dispenser any longer than a day or two.

That have a long track record of screwing over the shooters that support them. No amount of donations is going to change the fact I will never spend one red cent with them again.

I can remember in the spring of 2009 a rumor that all ammo will expire in 6 months. Obama supposedly put out to ammo makers that all ammo must expire in 6 months. I was told this by a bunch of dealers as they tried to sell me inflated ammo. And customers bought into the "All ammunition made after June 2009 will have an expiration date". I was at a show in 2009 and a dealer was selling CCI Stinger for $27 a box with a sign saying "Pre June". When I asked about the June thing the dealer stated all ammo made after June of 2009 will expire in 6 months.   That is the only thing I can remember from 2009 to cause a run on ammunition.

What bullet weight?

My subsonic cast loads cost me 4.4 cents each. You definitely need to start casting and you need to coat with them powder coating so you don't have to clean the can.

Seen one today for $199 at Walmart.

  I am pro gun but I am pro property rights and employer rights even more. I wish I could carry my firearm everywhere I go but I can't. And I am fine with that because if I can force someone to do something against their will then that means someone can do the same to me.   I am glad, I truly am, that everyone got what they wanted but I just don't understand what this did to really change things for employees. It does not protect them from termination for having a firearm in the parking lot, just says they can legally possess it there. The employer can still fire an employee as well as dictate no firearms on his property as a condition of employment. We will have taken a major hit to our freedoms when the government tells a boss he cannot fire an employee that violated company policy.   Nothing in the law says you can having anything on the private property that the owner doesn't want there. The owner of the property can still ask you to leave for having a gun. And if you don't you are breaking the law.   It was, and still is, legal to have a firearm in the vehicle on school property if you are delivering or picking up. Once you become and employee you follow your boss's rules or don't work there. Students are not employees so they should be able have the firearm left in the car IAW the law providing it isn't a condition of attending the private school. In that case they follow the institution's rules or find another school.   I am glad I can have a gun in the parking lots but the law doesn't keep the owner of that parking lot from removing me.

I think I said all along that the law would change nothing and that is the case. What this law has done is cost the taxpayers to have it passed in order to change nothing. It is going to cost millions of dollars in legal battles because every person who gets fired now is going to use this as the reason why. The employee is going find a pro bono attorney to sue, the employer is going to spend a ton of money defending it and in the end nothing is going to change. And who gets to pay that bill? The rest of us who will see increased prices on those goods. Not to mention the fact it will be clogging the legal system with frivolous lawsuits.   I will say there are probably a lot more companies that are upset with gun owners that there were before. So now you have employers looking to fire those who forced this upon them. Had you just kept your mouth shut things would have been better.   Before, you could be fired for having a gun against your employer's policy and now? You can still be fired for violating company policy. Before, the odds of being arrested for violating a company policy was zero and that is just like it is now. So what has changed? Nothing, except there was a lot of money wasted legislating this and a lot of pissed off employers looking to fire ANY gun owner.   If you think the legislators are going to pass a law forcing an employer to keep an employee after they violated company policy you are crazy. An employer should be able to fire anyone for violating company policy.